Wrestling Falls to Southern Maine, 37-9

GORHAM, Maine -- The Bridgewater State College wrestling team dropped a 37-9 decision to the University of Southern Maine in a Pilgrim Wrestling League dual meet Wednesday evening at Hill Gymnasium in Gorham, Maine.

Freshman Ken Francis (New Bedford, Mass.) and sophomore Michael Fenner (Bergenfield, N.J.) were responsible for all nine of the Bears' points.  Fenner earned a hard-fought 4-0 decision over USM senior Jeff Warren (Kensington, N.H.) in the 174-pound match, while Francis, grappling at 133-pounds, quickly pinned USM senior Anthony Moriarity (South Berwick, Maine) in 46 seconds.

Junior Doug Christensen (Middletown, N.Y.) and seniors Steve Valastro (Montgomery, N.Y.) and Mike Dumas (Kennebunk, Maine) each earned a win by fall to lead the Huskies to the victory over the Bears.

Winning their first dual meet of the season, Southern Maine stands at 1-0.  The Bears, also competing in their first dual meet of the season, are 0-1 with the loss.  Southern Maine entered the match ranked seventh in the latest New England Wrestling Association (NEWA) Division III Poll, while Bridgewater State entered the match ranked eighth.

With the score tied 6-6, Valastro, Christensen and Dumas scored 18 straight points for Southern Maine rattling off pins in the 141, 149 and 157-pound weight classes respectively. 

Earning his eighth win of the season, Valastro pinned Bridgewater State freshman John White (North Attleboro, Mass.) in 2:19.  Christensen followed Valastro putting Bears' sophomore Aaron Johnson (Brockton, Mass.) to the mat in 1:46 to help the Huskies to a 18-6 advantage.  Taking his team leading eighth win by fall, Dumas overtook BSC freshman Ethan Raymond (Middlebury, Vt.) in 1:30 to improve his overall record to 8-4.

USM senior captain Mike Morin (Fryeburg, Maine) remained undefeated earning a 14-2 major decision victory over Bridgewater State junior Steven Ciaccio (West Milford, N.J.).  With the win, Morin improves to 8-0.

However, the Huskies biggest win of the night came in the 184-pound bout as USM sophomore Jesse Rayworth (North Berwick, Maine) defeated BSC sophomore Ryan O'Rourke (Norton, Mass.), ranked sixth by NEWA in his weight class, 5-3.  Tied at 3-3 entering into the third period, Rayworth scored a point with an escape and then was awarded a point for riding time to earn the win.

Southern Maine returns to action on Saturday (9:30 a.m.) at the Oneonta State Invitational.  Bridgewater State is at the Doug Parker Invitational on Saturday (10:00 a.m.) at Springfield College.